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Quantum Random Numbers For Download

Posted by timothy on from the 404*pi-404^e-404mod401 dept.

PSUdaemon writes "The University of Geneva has produced a website that allows you to download truly random numbers generated from an Optical quantum random number generator. They will also be releasing a client API that you can use directly in your codes to download random numbers."

5 of 132 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Truly Random Number ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative
    Anyway, there cannot be a TRULY random number. There is nothing random. For everything there is an equation.

    Read Here

    It's only one click away from the first page.

    According to Nicolas Gisin, professor at the Group of Applied Physics, .Quantum physics is the only physical theory predicting that the outcome of certain phenomena is random. It is thus a natural choice to use it to generate true random numbers..

    Next you'll be telling us you know more that he does.

  2. Re:Interesting, but not that useful by MerlynEmrys67 · · Score: 4, Informative
    What would be much more interesting would be if intel/AMD started including a random number generator directly on processors which allowed you to get some random numbers via some random process on chip.

    Don't know about AMD, but this has been in Intel's chipsets since at least the 815 (I am pretty sure it was in the 810 chipset). They use a noisy diode and read the the value across it. I know it is certified, but I have never seen the operating range of the certification (I assume it is between x & y degrees Celcius - and at some point the diode starts to read more 0's than 1's or the other way around)

    Many 3rd party crypto companies have other RNGs built into their hardware - it is rather important for various security purposes.

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  3. Re:Truly Random Number ? by Too+Much+Noise · · Score: 5, Informative

    There is. Google for Bell's inequality or the Einstein, Podolsky, Rosen paradoxfor a starting point. It does involve some more than skin-deep knowledge of quantum mechanics though.

    The bottom line is there's no theory of 'local hidden variables' that would make quantum mechanics a deterministic theory in the 'classical' sense.

  4. What about Hotbits? by FooAtWFU · · Score: 4, Informative

    Last I checked HotBits was still in the random number business, using some radioactive sources.

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  5. Re:Truly Random Number ? by Too+Much+Noise · · Score: 4, Informative

    The EPR paradox, as modified by Bell, is actually a test of Quantum Mechanics - on the level of some basic assumptions, including the lack of classical determinism. It was tested (mostly in the '60-'70) and found to hold w.r.t. this issue (see Phys Rev Lett 49, 91) - were Bell's inequality to be found true, it would have meant the QM assumptions were wrong, making all QM wrong. Guess what, it didn't hold true ...

    So, at least the general principles of QM are correct. What this means is that there are non-local effects embedded in the theory, which make a deterministic (and thus predictable, i.e. non-random) description impossible.